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Chronicles Overview: A "Perfect" Solomon and Three Stray Arrows

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Solomon's Perfect Reign and the Three Stray Arrows: How Chronicles Points to Jesus

Show Notes

In this episode of the Spoken Gospel podcast, hosts David and Seth continue their exploration of the Book of Chronicles, reaching the literary and theological center of this often-overlooked biblical book. This third episode in the series examines Solomon's idealized reign, the temple's dedication, and the tragic pattern of kings who failed to follow God's guidance—all pointing toward a greater fulfillment in Jesus and his church.

The Chronicler's Idealized Solomon

Before diving into Solomon's reign, it's important to understand what the chronicler is doing with Israel's history. Solomon is the only character in the entire Book of Chronicles who receives no critique from God, despite the fact that readers of 1 Kings know about his thousands of wives, his oppressive labor practices, and his eventual turn toward idolatry. The chronicler's audience already knew these failures—he wasn't hiding anything. Instead, he was creating an idealized portrait to show what happens when a king perfectly follows the paradigm established in Chronicles: centering the nation around the priesthood and seeking God's guidance.

This selective history serves a specific purpose for the post-exilic community trying to rebuild their nation. By stripping away Solomon's failures, the chronicler presents a clear picture of what obedience to God's pattern produces. When Solomon takes the throne, the very first thing he does is go to the tabernacle at Gibeon to offer sacrifices and ask God for guidance. This isn't merely a humble request for wisdom instead of riches—it's Solomon aligning himself perfectly with the main point of the entire book. He's demonstrating that a son of David should seek God's voice at the place of sacrifice.

What makes Solomon's prayer particularly significant is that he asks for something unprecedented: an indwelling wisdom. Unlike David, who had to repeatedly go to the priests to inquire of the Lord about specific situations, Solomon requests wisdom that would remain with him—essentially asking for the Torah to be inscribed on his heart. This foreshadows the promise of the Holy Spirit and represents a major theological development in how God's people would eventually relate to divine guidance.

Building Eden: The Temple and the Nations

After receiving wisdom from God, Solomon immediately begins building the temple, activating all the resources and organizational structures his father David had prepared. The construction process reveals something remarkable about God's purposes for the nations. Solomon enters a trading relationship with Hiram, King of Tyre, a Gentile ruler who responds with an astonishing confession: "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who made heaven and earth" (2 Chronicles 2:12). As soon as the son of David centers the nation around the priesthood, Gentiles begin proclaiming faith in Israel's God.

Even more striking is the figure of Huram (spelled differently from Hiram), a half-Jewish, half-Gentile craftsman who designs all the architectural details and decorative elements inside the temple. The irony is profound: the temple would eventually become a place where Gentiles were forbidden to enter—Paul was imprisoned over this very issue—yet it was designed by someone representing international, multi-ethnic access to God. The 156,000 foreign workers conscripted to build the temple present an uncomfortable reality, one that Kings explicitly criticizes as Solomon acting like Pharaoh. Yet the chronicler sees something else in this picture: the nations themselves building the holy place of God, symbolically participating in Israel's worship.

The temple itself is filled with garden imagery—pomegranates, trees, the colors of Eden, abundant water. Solomon, the king who listens to God's voice, has rebuilt Eden. The nations have come to construct God's dwelling place, and the Ark of the Covenant finally has a permanent home. Everything points toward what was lost in Genesis being restored through faithful kingship centered on divine guidance.

Fire Falls and Steadfast Love Endures

Solomon's seven-part dedicatory prayer mirrors the seven days of creation, signaling that the temple represents a new beginning for God's people. The prayer's message is straightforward: whenever Israel sins, whenever famine or war comes, they need only turn toward the temple and ask God for help. This reinforces the book's central theme—when God's people center themselves around asking for guidance and forgiveness, God provides.

The climax of the dedication comes when Solomon concludes his prayer with the words: "O Lord God, do not turn away the face of your anointed one. Remember your steadfast love for David, your servant" (2 Chronicles 6:42). Immediately, fire falls from heaven and consumes the burnt offering, just as it did when the tabernacle was first inaugurated in the wilderness. God is endorsing this place as his seat of power in Israel. The priests respond by singing the refrain that captures the heart of what it means to have a temple at the center of the nation: "God is good. His steadfast love endures forever."

This moment connects directly to God's covenant promise to David in 1 Chronicles 17:13, where God promised not to take his steadfast love from David's son. The temple's completion proves God's eternal faithfulness. The fire falling, the priests singing about enduring love—these aren't separate events but a unified declaration that God keeps his promises. This pattern of fire falling to inaugurate God's dwelling place happens at least three times in Scripture: at the tabernacle in Exodus, at Solomon's temple in Chronicles, and at Pentecost in Acts 2. In each case, God's presence descends to mark a new phase of his kingdom, and significantly, Peter's Pentecost sermon focuses heavily on King David and his promises—the same connection Solomon's priests were making.

The Famous Promise and Its Forgotten Warning

That night, God appears to Solomon in a dream and speaks the words that have become one of the most quoted verses in Scripture: "If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:14). This is God answering Solomon's prayer directly, confirming that when Israel seeks guidance, God will grant forgiveness. The two themes Chronicles has been building—seeking God's voice and receiving forgiveness—collapse into one promise.

But God's message doesn't end there. He also delivers a warning: "But if you turn aside and forsake my statutes and my commandments that I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will pluck you up from my land that I have given you, and this house that I have consecrated for my name, I will cast out of my sight" (2 Chronicles 7:19-20). The temple that was just built with such glory could be destroyed. Israel, once exalted, could become a joke among the nations. This prophecy sets up everything that follows in the book and explains why the chronicler spends so many chapters documenting the rise and fall of subsequent kings.

Understanding this context reveals something profound about idolatry. If the center of God's will for Israel is seeking his guidance and receiving his forgiveness at the temple, then idolatry represents the de-centering of that relationship. Worshiping other gods means introducing alternative sources of guidance, alternative means of atonement. It's not merely adding something to Israel's religious practice—it's replacing the very thing God promised would bring blessing.

Three Stray Arrows: The Pattern of Disobedience

The thirty chapters following Solomon's reign document a heartbreakingly repetitive pattern. Kings who de-emphasize the son of David or fail to seek God's guidance experience failure, division, and death. The chronicler proves his thesis across hundreds of years of history, showing that no one escapes the paradigm. The literary consequence for the Northern Kingdom's rejection of David's line is particularly severe: they are essentially written out of Israel's history entirely. Unlike Kings, which bounces between northern and southern rulers, Chronicles only mentions the Northern Kingdom when they're in direct conflict with Judah. By rejecting the son of David and setting up alternative worship sites with golden calves, they forfeit their identity as God's people.

The chronicler marks three pivotal moments of disobedience with the same distinctive detail: death by a stray arrow. King Saul, Israel's first king, dies by a stray arrow after failing to listen to God's voice. King Ahab, the last northern king mentioned in Chronicles, dies the same way—despite disguising himself and staying at the back of his army to avoid a prophecy of his death. And Josiah, the last good king of Judah who rediscovered the law and reinstituted Passover for the first time since Samuel's day, also dies by a stray arrow after ignoring a prophetic word from Egypt.

The stray arrow imagery communicates something theological: these aren't merely political casualties of war. God's guidance extends even to seemingly random events. The very thing these kings refused to trust—God's sovereign direction—demonstrates its reach by guiding an arrow no human aimed. Their failure to listen created the circumstances of their destruction, and that destruction came in a form that proved how far God's guidance actually goes.

From Exile to the Great Commission

The book ends with Israel in exile, the temple burned, the people scattered—exactly what God warned Solomon would happen. Yet the final verses introduce an unexpected figure: Cyrus, King of Persia. This Gentile ruler claims that "the Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem" (2 Chronicles 36:23). Cyrus acts like David, prioritizing Israel's priesthood and temple even though he's not from Israel. If a pagan king can recognize what Israel's own kings failed to see, what excuse does the post-exilic generation have?

The parallels between Cyrus's commission and Jesus's Great Commission are striking. Cyrus says God has given him all kingdoms of the earth; Jesus says all authority in heaven and earth has been given to him. Cyrus sends Israel to rebuild the temple; Jesus sends his disciples to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them—activities centered on the identification of God's people and instruction in God's ways. Cyrus promises God will be with those who go; Jesus promises to be with his followers to the end of the age. Matthew seems to be deliberately echoing this moment, showing Jesus as the true fulfillment of what Cyrus only partially represented.

The hope of Chronicles required the temple's demolition. For Jesus to properly centralize the priesthood as the true Son of David, he had to decentralize it—placing his Spirit inside everyone who follows him rather than limiting it to one clan in one location. Solomon's prayer for indwelling wisdom finds its ultimate answer at Pentecost, when fire falls on ordinary believers who become the new temple. The nations no longer come to Jerusalem to find God; God's people go to the nations carrying his presence within them. Every believer receives the wisdom Solomon requested, the guidance the priests provided, and the forgiveness the sacrifices secured. The liturgical blueprint Chronicles establishes—centering community life around God's instruction and Christ's forgiveness—remains the pattern for churches large and small, proving that when God's people focus on these realities, the nations come to know him.

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Transcript

Seth: [upbeat music] In order for the hope of Chronicles to be true-

David: Mm.

Seth: ... you had to have a demolishing of the temple in some way.

David: Yeah, right. Yes.

Seth: You had to have the demolishing of a centralized structure-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... so that all people in all nations could truly be the center of God's act of forgiveness-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... and power and guidance.

David: Right.

Intro: [upbeat music] Welcome to the Spoken Gospel podcast. Spoken Gospel is a ministry that's dedicated to speaking the gospel out of every corner of scripture. In Luke 24, Jesus told his disciples that every part of the Bible is about him. In each episode, hosts David and Seth work through a passage of scripture to see how it's all about Jesus and his good news. Let's jump in. [upbeat music]

David: Well, welcome everybody to the Spoken Gospel podcast. Thank you so much for joining us. We are continuing our walk through the Book of Chronicles today. This is our third episode-

Seth: That's right

David: ... in this series. Um, so far, I think in the first episode, we kind of looked at the whole theme-

Seth: That's right

David: ... that ties it together. Uh, it was we need God's king from the line of David-

Seth: Mm

David: ... to center Israel around God's priests in order that there might be peace on every side.

Seth: That's right.

David: We looked at the paradigmatic example of that in the last episode-

Seth: Of David ... David building that kingdom around pr- a priesthood.

David: Yeah.

Seth: And today, we will look at that kingdom in full flower in Solomon.

David: The, the idealized version.

Seth: The idealized version. We got the build-up of that kingdom, the preparation for that kingdom-

David: Mm

Seth: ... and that kingdom comes full force in the reign of Solomon.

David: Yes, and importantly, this is Hebrew literature we're dealing with, and a lot of times in more Western stories, we put some of the most important things that we wanna highlight at the beginning and ends of stories.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Hebrews put it right in the middle.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And so the, the, it- they form these little chiasms, these mountains.

Seth: Mm-hmm. Yeah.

David: And you wanna go to the center of a piece of Hebrew literature to find the summit-

Seth: Mm

David: ... the main point-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... the highest peak.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And, um, what we get when we go there in Chronicles is we get Solomon.

Seth: That's right.

David: So where we left off last week, we had King David galvanizing a nationwide bureaucracy-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... in order to hand off a well-organized kingdom that was centered around the priest, listening to the voice of God-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... to his son, Solomon, that God had promised might be a king forever-

Seth: That's right

David: ... in this kingdom and would bring peace on every side.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And so he hands off the reins of his kingdom to Solomon. Solomon's anointed as king. What happens?

Seth: Yeah. Uh, I wanted to start this episode with, like, uh, a little bit of a disclaimer, too.

David: Ooh.

Seth: Because we said this back in the very first episode-

David: Mm

Seth: ... that this is an idealized history-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... or a selective history to make the point that we've already said. Like, it's a s- a selective history-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... to prove that when God's king-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... the son of David, centers his life around the priesthood, centers the kingdom around the priesthood, there's rest and peace and prosperity.

David: Right.

Seth: So we're gonna get into the reign of Solomon, which everybody knows, including the chronicler, was not the best king. [chuckles]

David: Right.

Seth: So, like, I think that's, uh, people's problem sometimes when they come to the Book of Chronicles-

David: Mm

Seth: ... if they ever get this far in their Bibles, or, [chuckles] like, if they're, like... If they're really faithful to read the, the Bible, they're like, "Oh, why are there none of the thousands of wives that Solomon-

David: Right

Seth: ... has? Why are- why is none of that here?"

David: Where's all his shady political dealings?

Seth: Yeah.

David: Where's him becoming like Pharaoh in Egypt?

Seth: That's right.

David: Yeah.

Seth: That's right. So none of that's in the story.

David: Okay.

Seth: Uh, Solomon is the only character in the entire Book of Chronicles to receive no critiques-

David: Mm

Seth: ... from God, despite the fact that we know of pretty severe critiques in the book of 1 Kings-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... uh, of Solomon and his reign.

David: Yeah.

Seth: So I wanted to say that disclaimer up front because it makes me uncomfortable when I read it.

David: Mm.

Seth: Because at one point in the story, Solomon has 156,000 slaves of the foreigners in the country, and it's like... And that's kind of portrayed as a positive thing in the story. I'm like, "How do I get past that fact-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... uh, [chuckles] when I'm reading this?" Uh, [chuckles] um-

David: Yeah, that is uncomfortable.

Seth: So do you have any-

David: Yeah.

Seth: I was- I wonder if you, that would prompt any questions into you as I say that out loud?

David: I mean, I have, uh, you and I have talked at length about, about this-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... that Solomon is such a mixed bag, even in the king's account.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: That it, at, at one moment, he's amazing, and you're like, your jaw is on the floor at how he's wanting to follow Torah, wanting to seek God's guidance, and you're like, "This is amazing." And then the next minute, he's... It seems like he's just Pharaoh on steroids, and he's terrible.

Seth: Yeah. Yeah.

David: And the way he's treated in the Bible is also a bit of a mixed bag.

Seth: Mm.

David: And so we've often talked about the-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... dual character of Solomon. Um, so I think just because he's already playing that role-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... in even other books of the Bible that aren't trying to be as idealized, um, I think I can kind of get there-

Seth: You're ready for it

David: ... literarily-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... with him here, being like, "Okay, we all know Solomon's a mixed bag. Let me strip out one side of it to show you-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... this other side to make a point." And everyone knows he's doing that. I think-

Seth: That's right.

David: I think another disclaimer might be that people might think, like, "Oh, man, are the authors of scripture playing fast and loose with history?" Like-

Seth: Right. That's right.

David: Well, you gotta know what they're doing, number one, and you gotta know their audience.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Their audience knows the exploits of Solomon.

Seth: That's right.

David: They, they- he can't hide it.

Seth: They don't want to repeat those failures either.

David: Right.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And so he's trying to highlight his, um, his good characteristics, not to save face for Solomon. That's definitely not his point. His point is, as we've talked about, to paint an idealized version for-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... his people to follow in and long for and shoot for.

Seth: Right.

David: So no, I don't have any-

Seth: Okay

David: ... other big problems with that.... knowing that I have a long past of having problems with Solomon.

Seth: Yeah, so-

David: I prepared you for this moment.

Seth: Yes. Well, great. Then, then we're ready to move forward.

David: Great. [laughs]

Seth: So David has done everything within his power-

David: Mm-hmm

Seth: ... to hand over a functioning kingdom ready to be activated by his son.

David: Yeah.

Seth: Solomon gets in power, and the first thing he does as the ideal king of Israel is he goes to the tabernacle in Gibeon and offers sacrifices and praise to God.

David: Okay.

Seth: The very first thing he does in his kingdom, he asks God for guidance.

David: Yeah. He goes to the place where he can meet God.

Seth: That's right.

David: It's the same place that David went.

Seth: That's right.

David: Okay. So he goes there, asks God for guidance, and what happens?

Seth: And he asks God for wisdom.

David: Okay. So is this the famous story where God was like, "Ask me for anything, and I'll give it to you"?

Seth: That's right.

David: Is that part also in Chronicles? Is-

Seth: That part's in Chronicles too.

David: Is it similar to the Kings account?

Seth: It's almost identical.

David: Okay, cool.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Yeah. I mean, that would, that would definitely be to the chronicler's benefit for his main point.

Seth: Right, which is a son of David-

David: Yeah [laughs]

Seth: ... asking God for guidance.

David: Yeah. [laughs] It's the-

Seth: Kind of- ... it's the first thing Solomon does

David: ... the perfect story,

Seth: and what's r- what escalates in this, in this version-

David: Mm-hmm

Seth: ... so we've had David asking God for guidance and like, "Go do this military battle in this way." This is like just a blanket request for guidance.

David: Mm.

Seth: For wisdom.

David: Yeah.

Seth: I want wi- I'm an immature man who's been inherited a kingdom. My father has set up a bureaucracy of hundreds of thousands of individuals. Um, and I just got inherited it all.

David: Mm-hmm.

Seth: God, I don't have, uh, the s- the experience to do this. I need your wisdom.

David: That is really interesting. It, he's doing something unique here theologically, it seems.

Seth: Okay.

David: That David always had to go and find out God's wisdom about a particular subject.

Seth: Yeah.

David: He had to go and seek.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: Right?

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: And Solomon seems to be asking for an indwelling wisdom.

Seth: Yeah, that is interesting.

David: Right?

Seth: That is different.

David: That the wisdom that you could only go get in the tent-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... would come and dwell in him.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Which is obviously a, a, a foreshadowing of-

Seth: Yes

David: ... a lot of prophecies and a lot-

Seth: Yes

David: ... of things that Jesus accomplishes. Uh, but that's like a pretty significant development theologically.

Seth: Yeah, I haven't thought about it that way, but yes, that's right.

David: It's, I mean, I'm like trying to think of like other ancient Near Eastern religions and like that would be a far cry from the way that they would see-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... temples and the, the will and the knowledge of their gods, that it would be given to them to act on.

Seth: Yeah. We've talked in the past about like how the whole Torah is an expression of God's character, how he intends the world to run.

David: Right.

Seth: So Solomon is asking, to your credit, for an indwelling and abiding sense of how the world should operate according to God's principles.

David: Yeah.

Seth: He's asking functionally for the Holy Spirit.

David: Right.

Seth: Right. He's asking for-

David: That, that the Torah would be inscribed on his heart.

Seth: That's right. Here's what he's asking for.

David: Yeah.

Seth: And so God is very impressed by this request.

David: Mm. Yeah.

Seth: And he grants him wisdom unlike any king in history.

David: Yeah. K-

Seth: Yes

David: ... one more thing.

Seth: Yeah, yeah.

David: I'm just like, I'm kinda blown away by that. It's like I think it's always seen as, uh, this humble request.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: Right? Like, Solomon could have asked for the moon-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... and gotten it.

Seth: That's right.

David: Uh, I don't know where you'd put the moon in Israel, but, you know, he could ask for it. [laughs]

Seth: [laughs]

David: The tides would be shot.

Seth: The tides. [laughs]

David: Um, but i- it's like the, the way that the story is shaping, it's like, oh, it's not necessarily that it was just a humble request, that he didn't ask for the moon or for riches, he asked for wisdom. It's that he is aligning himself with the main point of the book.

Seth: That's right.

David: He's aligning himself with the way God wants his kings to operate.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: And God honors that.

Seth: Yeah, he comes to God for guidance at the place where sacrifices are offered.

David: Mm-hmm.

Seth: And

Seth: in that request for wisdom, God gives him not only his request for guidance, but he says, "All the things you didn't ask for too."

David: Yeah.

Seth: "Horses-

David: Right

Seth: ... and victories and wealth and prosperity."

David: Yeah.

Seth: "All that will be yours by virtue of you coming to the place of sacrifice-

David: Right

Seth: ... and asking for guidance."

David: I can see why the chronicler would want to create an idealized Solomon.

Seth: Yes.

David: Because he just nails the paradigm.

Seth: He does.

David: He just nails the paradigm, and then he's like, "Let me show you-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... what actually did happen.

Seth: Yes.

David: And let me strip out the things that'll make it confusing-

Seth: Right

David: ... to just show you clearly." He, he nailed the paradigm, and look what happened. God blessed him.

Seth: Yes. And then the first thing he does after-

David: Mm

Seth: ... receiving all this wisdom, fulfilling the paradigm, is he centralizes the priesthood by

Seth: beginning to build the temple.

David: I see.

Seth: Right?

David: 'Cause the, the, the-

Seth: That's-

David: ... the pieces were set.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: The resources were brought in for the temple.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: The Levites had been selected. The organization, the bureaucracy had been set up.

Seth: That's right.

David: And he takes it a step further by-

Seth: Actually doing it

David: ... building the capital.

Seth: God promised that he would do it.

David: Mm-hmm.

Seth: And so he's like, "Okay, God, let's get to work."

David: Yeah.

Seth: Um-

David: Uh, do you know how, do we know how old Solomon was?

Seth: We don't know, but one thing that David does say multiple times during his own leadership is that his son is immature.

David: Mm.

Seth: And he's anticipating his son's immaturity by the time he takes the throne, which is why he builds such an elaborate government for him. At one point, David even appoints mentors for all of his sons, and they're like counselors to help raise his sons for him-

David: Mm

Seth: ... because he's trying to make sure that his son-

David: Right

Seth: ... is ready to take over the kingdom. Anyway, he's immature. We don't know how old he is-

David: Okay

Seth: ... as far as I understand.

David: Cool. Okay.

David: So Solomon comes back, starts building the temple.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Brings the priests and the bureaucracy all around it. What happens?

Seth: Well, the first thing he does is he, as much as his father David has prepared for him, there are some things still yet to be purchased, acquired.

David: Okay.

Seth: And what he does is he goes to Hiram, King of Tyre.... and he makes a trading relationship with him, which sounds like, okay, whatever-

David: Right

Seth: ... a trading relationship with Hiram, King of Tyre. He is a Gentile.

David: Yeah.

Seth: And one of the first things he says is that the God of Israel is the true God of the world.

David: The Gentile says this? [laughs]

Seth: [laughs] The Gentile says this. Verse 11, "Then Hiram, the King of Tyre, answered in a letter that he sent to Solomon, 'Because the Lord loves his people, he has made you king over them.'"

David: Mm.

Seth: The kingdom of Solomon is an expression of God's love, and then he says, "Hiram also said, 'Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, who has given King David a wise son, who has discretion and understanding, and who will build a temple for the Lord and a royal palace for himself.'"

David: Oh, my goodness. So yeah, as soon as the paradigm is nailed, as soon as the son of David starts centering the nation around the priests, the peace on every side thing starts happening in that the Gentiles are-

Seth: Mm

David: ... proclaiming faith in Israel's God.

Seth: That's right.

David: That's cool.

Seth: Yeah, Tyre, the king of Hiram, he- or Hiram, the King of Tyre-

David: [laughs]

Seth: ... he starts trading with Solomon and giving him all the supplies for the temple, and one of the most significant contributions Hiram gives to Solomon is a man named Huram, H-U-R-A-M, not H-I-R-A-M. It's a, it's a weird spelling.

David: Okay.

Seth: Uh, and depending on your translation, it might actually be spelled the same. Either way, he is basically an expert craftsman-

David: Mm

Seth: ... and he's half Jew, half Gentile.

David: Mm.

Seth: And he's basically responsible for designing all the architectural details and all the decorative elements inside the temple.

David: That is too ironic. [laughs]

Seth: Why?

David: Oh, man, I mean, the temple is the... become, you know, throughout time, becomes the place where Gentiles are not allowed.

Seth: That's right.

David: Like, Paul went to prison-

Seth: That's right

David: ... over this thing.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: And yet it was designed by a half Jew, half Gentile, representing international, multi-ethnic access to God.

Seth: Mm.

David: And yet it becomes a place of division, yet it was built by someone who is unified.

Seth: Yeah.

David: That's crazy.

Seth: Yeah, and this is, goes to, like, the weird part.

David: Okay.

Seth: Where at one point we're told that, you know, 156,000 foreign slaves are conscripted-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... to build the temple.

David: Yeah, that one hurts.

Seth: But symbolically-

David: Mm-hmm

Seth: ... it also represents the Gentiles building the temple of God.

David: I understand.

Seth: The holy place of God.

David: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Seth: So, uh, the Chronicles is pretty silent about whether or not that was a good thing. Kings kind of makes it more explicit-

David: Right

Seth: ... that the, the, uh, conscripting of foreign slaves was Solomon acting like Pharaoh.

David: Pharaoh.

Seth: Here, it seems to be cast in light of like, this seems as if-

David: The nations are coming to Israel

Seth: ... the nations are the one building the temple.

David: They're centering themselves around-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... God's priestly order and presence.

Seth: Right.

David: Yeah.

Seth: So it's, it's a, it's kind of an uncomfortable moment.

David: And I think it's an ironic truth, even in Kings, that it's like-

Seth: That's right

David: ... it's like, okay, he's bringing in the nations, but as slaves, and it's like this half-good, half-bad thing.

Seth: Yeah.

David: And the chronicler is trying to get us to see the, the ironic good-

Seth: Right

David: ... side of it. Okay.

Seth: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

David: Yeah.

Seth: So yeah, Solomon gets critiqued for that in other books-

David: Yes

Seth: ... but here it's a symbol of the fact that the whole world is now revolving around the priesthood when the King of Israel revolves himself around the priesthood.

David: Yep.

Seth: So Solomon then builds the temple. He activates those 156,000 employees.

David: Mm-hmm.

Seth: He builds the temple, puts inside the temple the 36,000 priests, the 4,000, uh, musicians. He activates the bureaucracy, and he brings in the Ark of the Covenant, finally, from its resting place, into the temple complex that he just built.

David: Dang, 'cause David had brought it from its place out there in the sticks.

Seth: Yeah, uh, to the center of his power, as he understood it.

David: Yep.

Seth: Uh, but now we have a place for it to live, inside the, the temple of God.

David: Okay. Uh, before we... I just have a really random trivia question.

Seth: Okay.

David: Do we know what happened to the tent during this time?

Seth: Oh.

David: Did it just stay out there? Does it ever get addressed again?

Seth: I don't know what happens to the tent.

David: Okay.

Seth: Um-

David: Totally ir-

Seth: We're-

David: ... unrelated

Seth: ... yeah, like, you know, as I said in a couple episodes ago, the place where sacrifices are supposed to be offered are the place where God decides-

David: Right

Seth: ... places his name.

David: Yep.

Seth: And so one of the significant events that's about to take place here is that God will place his name-

David: Yep

Seth: ... in Jerusalem-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... and in this temple.

David: And when he does that, the tabernacle becomes just another tent.

Seth: Right, yes.

David: Because it wasn't about itself. It was, "Oh, that's the place God named"-

Seth: Yes

David: ... "but now he's gonna name this place."

Seth: That's right.

David: Okay, cool.

Seth: So the Ark comes in, the singers all gather around, and Solomon prays.

David: Mm.

Seth: He prays for what's about to happen.

David: Okay.

Seth: And he gives this vision for what the kingdom should be like now that the temple is built.

David: Mm.

Seth: And he has this seven-part prayer, uh, kind of like mirroring the creation of the world-

David: Mm

Seth: ... like the Garden of Eden.

David: Yep.

Seth: Like, so seven days, like this is a new beginning-

David: Right

Seth: ... for God's people.

David: Yes.

Seth: Uh, the temple, I... I mean, there's so many details we could talk about. The temple is filled with garden images. It's filled with pomegranates-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... and trees, and the colors of Eden. It's full of water. Like, Eden was a well-watered place. There's all this symbolism there-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... like Solomon, the king, who listens to God's voice. The nations have come to build-

David: Mm

Seth: ... the priesthood for God's people, and the Ark, his presence is there.

David: Yeah.

Seth: And now it's like, okay, we've got- we've come back to Eden.

David: Yeah, totally.

Seth: So what should we do now that Eden's been rebuilt? And he has this seven-part prayer-

David: Okay

Seth: ... to like, to, to explain to his people, to Israel-

David: Okay, what's-

Seth: ... what Eden looks like.

David: So the prayer is also kind of like a, a sermon.

Seth: Yeah, that's right. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

David: Okay.

Seth: That's right. That's right.

David: Cool. Yeah, I've heard some preachers do that. [laughs]

Seth: [laughs] There's whole sermons in this prayer!

David: I know.

Seth: [laughs]

David: It's, it's the worst. [laughs]

Seth: [laughs]

David: Okay, so what's the message-

Seth: Uh

David: ... of this prayer, then?

Seth: Basically, the... anytime Israel sins-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... anytime they do wrong, anytime there's a famine in the land or war comes about, the point is they can turn towards the temple.

David: Okay, so what is the message of this sermonic prayer?

Seth: Uh, the message of the prayer is that if anyone in Israel ever sins-

David: Mm-hmm

Seth: ... if there's ever a famine in the land, if there is ever an enemy that comes up to attack Israel, all Israel needs to do is turn towards the temple.

David: Mm.

Seth: Ask God for help, and God will provide it.

David: Okay.

Seth: Which is this, again, the central point of the Book of Chronicles-

David: Yep

Seth: ... when God's kings, but the whole nation, turns towards the temple, centers itself on asking God for guidance-God provides.

David: Yeah.

Seth: God provides it.

David: I'm, uh, I don't know why it took me so long to hear this. I mean, two episodes ago we beat, you know-

Seth: Yes. Yes, yes

David: ... this theme to death about the, the, like, the center-

Seth: I love beating a theme to death. [laughs]

David: Oh yeah, why not? Of just, like, the priest being at the center, and it's all about listening to God's voice for guidance-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... and asking for forgiveness of sins. And I'm like, there's something behind that even-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... which is it seems like God's heart is He wants to be depended on.

Seth: Mm.

David: Right?

Seth: Yeah.

David: It's like there are two main needs we have as humans, and I'm not talking about, like, eating and shelter.

Seth: Yeah, yeah.

David: But like spiritually, psychologically-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... there are main needs we have. It's like, "What am I doing?"

Seth: Yeah.

David: Right? And how do I deal with all my, like, when I, when I-

Seth: Right

David: ... when I don't do it right?

Seth: Yeah, yeah.

David: What am I doing? What, what happens when I don't do it right?

Seth: Yeah.

David: And God's like, "Depend on me."

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: "Look to me." And I'm just like, that's so interesting, the heart of God I'm starting to see-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... through all the weeds of Chronicles. I'm just like, I didn't just mean to call a book of the Bible weeds. That was bad.

Seth: [laughs]

David: Um.

Seth: We called it a black hole the first episode. [laughs]

David: Okay. Yeah, I guess, I guess we've done worse. Um, but I'm just like, this doesn't, this... I'm not trying to advance the argument, I'm sorry. But, uh, it's like there's just this heart of God that I'm just seeing-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... that Solomon, that Solomon's prayer is just depend on the Lord.

Seth: He, the very first, not the very first, but whenever Israel's in Egypt, one of the first things we're told about God is that He hears their cries-

David: Mm

Seth: ... in that story.

David: Yeah.

Seth: And that's always been the heart of God-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... is that He hears the cries of His people.

David: So cry to me.

Seth: So cry to me.

David: Right. [laughs]

Seth: And now you have a, a permanent structure-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... a center of your entire nation built around calling out for help and the guarantee of my provision.

David: Yeah.

Seth: Like, that's-

David: It's, it's... I just, I don't know why it's just now hitting my heart-

Seth: [laughs]

David: ... after all of, after hours of talking.

Seth: There's proof of, like, you have to hear things...

David: You do

Seth: ... you gotta lose more than once for it to hit home.

David: But I'm just saying, man, I'm just, I, I just can see God's heart for me in this.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: And it's like, "David-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... when you're wondering about direction, right? When you-

Seth: Yes

David: ... when you want guidance, don't try to just figure it out by yourself. Don't take a sinful census like we talked-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... about in the last episode. Just ask."

Seth: Yeah.

David: "Turn to me and ask."

Seth: Ah.

David: "When, when you feel guilty and ashamed-"

Seth: Yeah

David: ... "and unworthy, don't try to justify yourself or stack up good works to self-placate. Just look to me."

Seth: Yeah.

David: "That's what I want you to center your life around, is dependence on me."

Seth: Yeah. Whenever Solomon makes this prayer and God responds to his prayer-

David: Mm-hmm

Seth: ... by bathing the temple in fire.

David: That sounds bad.

Seth: Uh, it's, it's a good thing.

David: Oh, okay. [laughs]

Seth: It's, it [laughs] it's the same thing that happened at the tabernacle in the wilderness when-

David: Yes

Seth: ... God's presence rested on it. It's like, it's a symbol. My presence is here now.

David: Yeah, and the smoke filled the-

Seth: Yeah, yeah, yeah

David: ... the tabernacle.

Seth: Yeah. Um, all the priests sing a song-

David: Mm

Seth: ... in response-

David: Okay

Seth: ... to this moment, and the song is the steadfast love. God is good. His steadfast love endures forever.

David: Let's go.

Seth: That's the one-word summary of what it means to have a temple at the center of your country.

David: Was it God is good?

Seth: God is good. His steadfast love endures forever.

David: I mean, come on.

Seth: That, that, that's what you're, that's what you're saying, yeah.

David: Anybody who says the Old Testament God is mean and curmudgeony-

Seth: [laughs]

David: ... come here.

Seth: Yeah, like, this is the center of-

David: Come on

Seth: ... Israel.

David: Oh, it's so good. Okay.

Seth: Um-

David: So, okay, hold on. We just said something that's really significant that happens. He says this prayer, and the message is depend on God.

Seth: Mm.

David: Anytime something goes wrong, anytime we sin, turn to Him, depend on Him, seek Him for guidance and forgiveness, and then God responds with His goodness and His steadfast love by dropping fire from Heaven?

Seth: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

David: And, and where's the fi- Does the fire consume an offering like it did earlier in Exodus?

Seth: It consumes, yeah, it consumes a burnt offering-

David: Burnt offering, yeah

Seth: ... off- all, uh, and the sacrifice that was made right there.

David: 'Cause that happened, uh, to inaugurate the first tabernacle.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: They s- they set out the burnt offering-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... and God's fire came and, and lit the, the altar, and that was the fire they were meant to tend and keep burning.

Seth: That's right, yeah.

David: And now he's done it again.

Seth: He's done it again.

David: Which is, like, probably important.

Seth: Right.

David: Because people are like, "Wait, that was the place that God definitely ordained."

Seth: God, God's endorsing this place-

David: Yes

Seth: ... as His seat of power in Israel, His, the place of sacrifice for His people to come to. He's like-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... this is His endorsement of what's happening.

David: Yeah, and His, and the smoke of His presence fills the temple.

Seth: And this one, just fire fills-

David: Or is that just, is that Kings?

Seth: That's c- uh, that might be Kings.

David: Okay.

Seth: Um, but yeah.

David: Crazy.

Seth: And then the priests sing.

David: Okay.

Seth: The center, the center. Again, what's the center of that chiasm?

David: Mm.

Seth: Uh, at the, in the genealogy, at the very center of the whole-

David: The singing priests

Seth: ... the singing priests. And so as God's presence falls, the high point, the highest of the high points in Solomon's reign-

David: Mm

Seth: ... is when the priests start singing that God's love endures forever-

David: Oh

Seth: ... uh, that He is good and He's faithful.

David: And it's interesting, it's like the, the last time I think we probably heard of something enduring forever, it was David's line.

Seth: That, that's right.

David: Okay.

Seth: And when God promises David an eternal covenant in 1 Chronicles 17:13, He says, "I shall be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son, and I will not take my steadfast love from him-

David: Ah

Seth: ... as I took it from him who was before you."

David: Mm.

Seth: "But I will confirm him in my house and in my kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever."

David: There you go.

Seth: So the fact that Solomon has built the house is proof of God's eternal steadfast love-

David: Yes

Seth: ... to David's son.

David: The singers are reaffirming God's covenant to David.

Seth: That's right.

David: And naming that it's built on his love.

Seth: That's right.

David: That's dope.

Seth: And it, it, to, to just heighten it a little bit more-

David: Whoa

Seth: ... when, when, uh, David is praying his seven-part prayer-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... you know what his-

David: Or Solomon's

Seth: ... uh, Solomon. Solomon's praying his seven-part prayer. The last line-

David: Mm

Seth: ... of his prayer is, chapter six, verse 42, "O Lord God, do not turn away the face of your, of your anointed one. Remember your steadfast love for David, your servant."

David: Ah.

Seth: Immediately, fire falls.

David: Whoa.

Seth: He remembers his love. He affirmed the temple has been built, his presence there, the endorsement has come. Steadfast love of the Lord proven in the moment he's asked for it, which goes back to the main point of the book.

David: Yep.

Seth: When God's people, when God's kings center themselves around the priesthood-They're given rest.

David: Man.

Seth: They're given the goodness of God.

David: Permission to make a quantum leap.

Seth: Okay.

David: Uh, permission granted?

Seth: Permission granted. [laughs]

David: Yes. Okay. I just can't help myself with this.

Seth: Please. [laughs]

David: This is one of those moments where it's like, if I don't talk about it now-

Seth: Okay. [laughs]

David: ... I'm gonna die. Acts 2.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Right? When this happens again.

Seth: Yes. Yeah, yeah. Fire f-

David: Fire falls from heaven-

Seth: That's right

David: ... and flaming tongues of fire falls from heaven, and the new temple is made 'cause it's God's people. But then once they start, you know, once Peter starts giving his first sermon-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... who does he keep talking about? King David.

Seth: Oh, yeah.

David: All he talks about is David.

Seth: That's right.

David: David, David, David, David.

Seth: That's right. That's right.

David: And it's like, why? He's doing the same thing Solomon did.

Seth: Yeah.

David: He's saying that the fire falling on the-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... apostles in, uh, there in Jerusalem in, uh, in Acts 2 is a fulfillment of God's steadfast, enduring love-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... for David.

Seth: That's right.

David: That is just cool.

Seth: That's cool. That's super cool.

David: So it happens at least three times.

Seth: Yeah, I hadn't thought about that.

David: It happens in Exodus, it happens in Chronicles, and it-

Seth: Yep

David: ... happens in Acts.

Seth: The beginning of God's church. Yeah.

David: The beginning of God's, yeah-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... kingdom on earth.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Uh, as a f- and then in, yeah, in, in this case it's this fulfillment of God's steadfast love to David. Cool.

Seth: That's so cool.

David: Okay.

Seth: I hadn't thought about that.

David: But anyway.

Seth: That's really cool. Yeah, the falling of the Holy Spirit is the ultimate ful- is the next line of fulfillment after-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... this moment right here.

David: So cool. Okay.

Seth: Cool.

David: Yeah, quantum leap back into Chronicles.

Seth: Yes.

David: Here we go.

Seth: So okay, it's done.

David: Yeah.

Seth: The temple is up and running, so they start offering sacrifices, uh, for the first time. And then we get a summary list of all of Solomon's accomplishments during his reign. So, uh-

David: So yeah. Are these, are these sacrifices, um, like sacrifices of dedication, like the first sacrifices that-

Seth: Yes. That's right

David: ... oh, the, okay.

Seth: Dedication sacrifices.

David: It's not like sin sacrifices. These are-

Seth: Um

David: ... dedication sacrifices.

Seth: Yeah. It just, as far as I understand, dedication sacrifices.

David: Yeah. Purifying, cleansing the space.

Seth: That's right.

David: Just, just like what happened with the first tabernacle.

Seth: Yeah, there's like a 14-day feast for everybody. It's a big deal.

David: Dope.

Seth: It's a big deal.

David: I wanna go to that party.

Seth: Uh, and that 14-day feast will actually come up again later in the book.

David: Oh.

Seth: So.

David: Okay.

Seth: Good to, good to pause there.

David: A fortnight feast?

Seth: A, a fortnight-long feast.

David: Mm.

Seth: So after-

David: Okay

Seth: ... this moment, we get a summary list of all of Solomon's accomplishments.

David: Okay.

Seth: And this goes back to this idea that now when David brought the Ark into Jerusalem, it was followed by a series of military victories.

David: Yeah.

Seth: Now the Ark has been brought in. It's, the temple's in Jerusalem, so we expect another string of military victories.

David: Right.

Seth: Instead what we get is the bending of the other nations to Solomon.

David: Mm.

Seth: And Solomon begins to take over the nations without ever launching a military campaign.

David: The, the peace... The, the, it's peace on every side through peace.

Seth: Through wisdom.

David: Through wisdom. Yes.

Seth: And the example of this is the Queen of Sheba.

David: Oh, right.

Seth: She comes up and visits Solomon, impressed by his wisdom-

David: Mm

Seth: ... admits that God is the, the God of Israel is the only God in the entire world.

David: Mm.

Seth: And she converts, the Queen of, uh, uh, of Sheba converts to the God of Israel.

David: Whoa.

Seth: And the nations start folding in and becoming and being blessed by the fact that Solomon is on the throne.

David: Which, can we just name, in this time period, that kinda thing didn't happen.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Yeah. This was like a...

Seth: Yeah

David: ... like, gods grew in influence through imperialism-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... and through co- military conquest.

Seth: That's right.

David: But I don't, uh, in my knowledge, which is super limited, so if I'm wrong, I'm wrong, but it's, it's nevertheless amazing-

Seth: Mm

David: ... is this idea that without lifting a finger, without threat of violence-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... without a show of force, people are being pulled in by the steadfast love of God.

Seth: Yes.

David: That's cool.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Okay?

Seth: Yeah.

David: So, so his accomplishments, Solomon's accomplishments-

Seth: And the crowning jewel of that accomplishment-

David: Oh, okay

Seth: ... is the nations coming in-

David: Yes

Seth: ... and blessing and affirming that God is the God of Israel.

David: Mm.

Seth: And so this is what happens-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... in the chronicler's mind-

David: Right

Seth: ... when a King of David centers Israel around a temple.

David: Yep.

Seth: We fulfill our national purpose as it was promised to Abraham.

David: Mm.

Seth: We become a nation through which all nations are blessed.

David: Which is exactly what happens in Acts 1 and 2.

Seth: That's right.

David: Right? I'll make you-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... my ambassadors, you know, uh, my witnesses into the ends of the earth.

Seth: Yes.

David: And there they go. The fire falls. They talk about the fulfillment of King David-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... and they go to the nations.

Seth: That's right.

David: Nations come to Jesus.

Seth: That's right.

David: Super cool.

Seth: So if you are a Jew rebuilding the nation after you've come home from exile-

David: Right, which is who the chronicler was writing to

Seth: ... right, this is like, okay, I get why we would want to reinstitute-

David: Mm

Seth: ... refocus, find the line of, reforge the line of David, and to refocus our efforts on building the temple.

David: Right.

Seth: We see what's possible-

David: Mm

Seth: ... when God's kings are focused on God's priests, the, the priesthood.

David: Yeah. Man, that's amazing. Is there anything else in your mind about this idealized kingdom of Solomon that is pushing us to the gospel?

Seth: You said, I think the Acts 2 connection's not a connection I made.

David: Mm.

Seth: But that's like, okay, where does this happen now? It happens in Acts 2-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... and in the global church.

David: Right.

Seth: Like, the nations are coming to commit themselves to God, to give all their gifts to God's kingdom through the administration of churches around the world.

David: Yeah.

Seth: Through wise believers in Jesus who are listening to the voice of God in their local congregations.

David: Yeah.

Seth: When people do that, people are saved.

David: Yeah.

Seth: The nations come to know God.

David: Right. I mean, and we see examples of that happening in Jesus's ministry-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... in the Acts of the Apostles.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: I remem- I think about Paul being like, "Should I go to Jerusalem?" And, like, he gets-

Seth: That's right

David: ... prophetic words in Ephesus and-

Seth: That's right

David: ... uh, he's trying to be a good priest.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Like, listening to God's voice on how to go about this mission-

Seth: Mm

David: ... as he goes to the nations.

Seth: Yeah.

David: That's really cool. Uh, yeah. I'm just like, man, for, for us today, you know, like-

Seth: Right

David: ... this idea of listening to God's voice as we go out on a missionLeaning on him for forgiveness

Seth: I'm thinking more like, I keep thinking not at individually, but institutionally.

David: Sure. I mean, yeah. We're-

Seth: That this is a manual for governmental leaders and Isr- in a new generation of Israel's-

David: Right

Seth: ... rebuilding, right?

David: Yep.

Seth: It's like functionally then, what does it mean to build churches-

David: Mm-hmm

Seth: ... around the twin centers of asking for God's guidance-

David: Mm-hmm

Seth: ... and the forgiveness offered in the cross?

David: Right.

Seth: What does it mean to build organizations around those two facts?

David: Right.

Seth: You don't need to get too complicated.

David: Mm.

Seth: David built like a 200,000 person administration.

David: [laughs]

Seth: But, like, every time you gather together, you have the bread and the b- the blood.

David: Right

Seth: The bread and the wine

David: The forgiveness.

Seth: The forgiveness.

David: Yeah.

Seth: Right?

David: Right.

Seth: You sing songs every time you get together.

David: Yes.

Seth: Uh, right? [laughs]

David: Yeah.

Seth: You, uh-

David: Affirm God's steadfast love and-

Seth: That's right

David: ... ask for him to speak.

Seth: Every sermon ends and is about Jesus.

David: Right.

Seth: What should our churches look like? They should look like that.

David: Mm.

Seth: Right?

David: Yeah, absolutely.

Seth: Like on a very basic level.

David: Basic level, yes.

Seth: This is giving us a b- a liturgical blueprint-

David: Oof

Seth: ... for how

Seth: the church should always be throughout-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... all time, and the hope that when a church focuses on Christ-

David: Mm-hmm

Seth: ... focuses on the center of his forgiveness, the world comes to know him.

David: Right.

Seth: This basic liturgy.

David: Yeah. Man, what an encouragement to churches large and small, right?

Seth: Yeah.

David: Multi-campus and house church.

Seth: That's right.

David: You know, is it's not programmatic.

Seth: Yeah.

David: It's liturgical.

Seth: Yes, yes, yes.

David: Success isn't programmatic-

Seth: That's right

David: ... it's liturgical. Build upon these centers, right, of listen to the voice of the Lord and, and build a community around forgiveness.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: And the nations will come.

Seth: Yeah.

David: The Queen of Sheba will knock on your door.

Seth: That's right.

David: [laughs] That's really cool.

Seth: That's right.

David: Okay.

Seth: And I think that's really hopeful because-

David: Mm

Seth: ... I, I think I've shared this story on the podcast multiple times.

David: Yeah.

Seth: But when you start trying to build something on how clever you are, how funny you are, how gifted you are as a speaker, you're always wondering

Seth: if you knocked it out of the park.

David: Did I do enough?

Seth: Did I do enough?

David: Was it good this time?

Seth: Am I gonna spend multiple hour, like crying myself to sleep again?

David: [laughs]

Seth: Because I don't know if I was-

David: Faithful

Seth: ... I met the expectations-

David: Right

Seth: ... that I set up for myself.

David: Yeah.

Seth: Well, what this says is like, oh, there's a, a really

Seth: decent rubric. Did you preach about the good news and forgiveness found in Jesus?

David: Mm.

Seth: Did you explain God's word?

David: Right.

Seth: Oh, did you sing about the goodness and love of God? Oh, you're done for the day.

David: Yeah. Go enter into your rest.

Seth: Go rest. [laughs] Like that's-

David: Go make peace on every side

Seth: ... [laughs] there's not like... There's o- obviously a lot of stuff to worry about.

David: Yeah.

Seth: But, like, the task is completed-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... in large part when these things are done.

David: It's a wise way to live and lead.

Seth: Yes.

David: Yeah. That's really good. [gentle music] Now can I be a downer?

Seth: Yes, please.

David: All right.

Seth: I love it. [laughs]

David: How does the rest of Chronicles ruin this paradise?

Seth: [laughs]

David: Paradise.

Seth: The, uh, the rest of Chronicles shows us the ways the rest of the kings of Israel's history failed to live up to this paradigm. It's like, yes, they failed the paradigm, but when kings, to differing degrees, failed to emphasize the rulership of the king of David, of the son of David, or failed to listen to God's voice, their kingdoms rose and fell along those two rubrics-

David: Mm

Seth: ... along those two paths.

David: Right.

Seth: So to the extent to which you reject the king is the extent to which you experience self-sabotage and suicide.

David: Right. Mm.

Seth: The extent to which you fail to listen to God's voice is the extent to which you experience failure and a lack of prosperity-

David: Right

Seth: ... and, and warfare.

David: Yeah.

Seth: And the rest of the book is proving that point.

David: Mm.

Seth: 30 chapters, the re- the 30 more chapters of that.

David: Mm.

Seth: The most boring part of the book is the next 30 chapters in some ways.

David: Yeah, I bet people would argue with you about that.

Seth: Yeah, because-

David: [laughs]

Seth: ... because it's like, oh, these are all the stories of wars and battles-

David: Right

Seth: ... and Hezekiah and Josiah.

David: Yeah.

Seth: Oh, my gosh, these are the cool, cool guys, but-

David: Right. I'm finally out of the genealogy

Seth: ... but I was constantly surprised by the literary beauty of genealogies-

David: Right

Seth: ... and the surprising turns that these things are taking, but every story fall, from this point on, follows a very predictable pattern.

David: Mm.

Seth: If you de-emphasize a son of David or de-emphasize asking for God's voice-

David: You're done

Seth: ... you're done. You die.

David: Right. [laughs]

Seth: That's the rest of the story.

David: Yeah. [laughs]

Seth: Uh, so it like, it's heartbreakingly repetitive-

David: Mm

Seth: ... uh, to read the rest of the story.

David: And is... And, and what's the, what's the point there? Is the, is the chronicler like, "Well, I gotta finish chronicling the rest of Israel's history, and I've gotta fit it into my rubric," you know?

Seth: Right.

David: And so it's, sorry it's boring, or is he doing something with that repetition?

Seth: I think he's being a good teacher.

David: Mm.

Seth: He's making it abundantly clear that his point plays out across hundreds of years of history.

David: Mm.

Seth: Right? It's like-

David: No one escapes the paradigm

Seth: ... no one escapes the paradigm. All of Israel's kings failed or succeeded based on these two categories.

David: Mm.

Seth: Let me prove it to you over and over and over again.

David: Yeah.

Seth: So new generation of kings, are you gonna listen to me? Are you gonna follow? Are you gonna find a son of David and focus the kingdom around this temple-

David: Mm

Seth: ... or around the priesthood? Because I've showed you pretty convincingly that what happens when you fail to do those things.

David: I think you mentioned to me, this to me off air, there's a, there's a famous verse in Chronicles about-

Seth: Oh

David: ... turning to the Lord and-

Seth: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

David: ... things going well, and it, that seems to be, I think you said, like a summary of the whole book and-

Seth: Yeah. It's, uh, this is right after fire falls from heaven and the temple is established.

David: Oh, okay.

Seth: And so Sol-

David: We're, so we're still on the peak of the mountain

Seth: ... still at the peak of the mountain, and this is in chapter seven. So Solomon has done all this, and Solomon goes to sleep that night. He rests.

David: Good, peace on every side.

Seth: Uh, and as he's resting, God comes to him in a dream or in a vision, and he speaks to Solomon.

David: Whoa.

Seth: And God says to Solomon, "When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people-

David: Is he repeating his prayer back to him?

Seth: Basically.

David: Oh, my goodness, okay

Seth: ... uh-"If my people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land."

David: He is answering his prayer.

Seth: He is.

David: He says, "God, when these things happen, if we turn to you, please hear and grant us forgiveness."

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: And then he wakes them up in the middle of the night and says, "I will."

Seth: Yeah. He's saying th- that that's what will happen.

David: That's cool.

Seth: That's what will happen for you.

David: What an answer to prayer [laughs]

Seth: I know, right? [laughs]

David: [inhales]

Seth: Uh, and then he also gives a warning.

David: Oh, good.

Seth: But-

David: Sounds like Torah

Seth: ... 19, verse 19, "But if you turn aside and forsake my statutes and my commandments-

David: Mm

Seth: ... that I've set before you and go and serve other gods and worship them, then I'll pluck you up from the land that I gave you and this house that I have cons- consecrated for my name. I'll destroy the temple."

David: Yep.

Seth: "I'll take you, Israel away from you. I'll cast you out of my sight, and you'll become a proverb, a, uh-

David: Mm-hmm

Seth: ... a, a byword, a mock, uh, a joke among the nations." Uh, and this has that, "Which was exalted-

David: Mm

Seth: ... and well, people will be astonished by. Look how far they've fallen."

David: Yeah, man, that's a... Yeah, I, I mean, I'm, I'm like, wow. I mean, he's repeating Torah.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: He's answering his prayer.

Seth: Yep.

David: And he is summing up the whole point of Chronicles.

Seth: Yep, and pr- uh, uh, prophesying the, or prophesying-

David: Yeah, they-

Seth: ... summarizing what's going to happen next

David: ... in their history.

Seth: That's right.

David: Yeah. So, "If my people who are called by my ma- my name turn to the" ... What was it?

Seth: Humble themselves-

David: Humble themselves

Seth: ... and pray and seek my face.

David: Pray, so listen to, for my voice.

Seth: Yep. "Turn from their wicked ways and then I will hear from heaven, and I will-

David: Mm

Seth: ... forgive their sins, and I will heal their land."

David: Oh, so, so what's interesting there is the two things we've talked about.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: About seeking God's guidance-

Seth: Yes

David: ... and building around forgiveness.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: God just marries.

Seth: That's right.

David: And he says-

Seth: That's right

David: ... "When you seek me for guidance, I'll forgive you."

Seth: Mm-hmm. Y- yes.

David: He just-

Seth: Yes

David: ... collides them.

Seth: Yes, that's right. That's-

David: They overlap in the temple.

Seth: Yeah, that's exactly right. That's why the, the-

David: Oh

Seth: ... king must center-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... Israel around the temple and the priesthood.

David: That's really cool. Okay. And yeah, so, so then as you said, the rest of the Book of Chronicles ends up showing how this doesn't happen. People don't turn-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... their faces to God. Some people do?

Seth: Some people. Yeah. So we have positive and negative examples-

David: Okay

Seth: ... throughout the whole, um-

David: Is it even? Is one weighted?

Seth: Um-

David: Like-

Seth: ... I mean, it ends with Israel in exile.

David: Yeah. [laughs]

Seth: So it ends [laughs] s- uh, decreasing obedience over generations. There are-

David: Some hi- so some highlights?

Seth: There's some highlights, but eventually, the obedience of a few kings-

David: Mm

Seth: ... is not enough to overturn a nation's worth of-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... sin and iniquity.

David: Right.

Seth: And they are sent into exile.

David: It's helpful to name this as the center of God's will for Israel because it makes idolatry all the worse, which is the chief sin that comes in.

Seth: Right.

David: Because idolatry is s- s- trusting in another god for guidance.

Seth: Yeah. It's... Another, I thought of inintra- I was like, "I hadn't thought about it this way," but we keep saying, like, the king must center-

David: Mm-hmm

Seth: ... Israel around the priesthood-

David: Right

Seth: ... and around God's forgiveness of sins and His guidance.

David: Mm-hmm.

Seth: Idolatry is the de-centering-

David: Yes

Seth: ... of asking God for guidance. It's introducing another place to ask another god for-

David: Yep

Seth: ... guidance.

David: Right.

Seth: Another way to atone for your sins. It's de-centering what God has promised will work for His people.

David: Right. I mean, that's exactly what happens in, in the divided kingdom.

Seth: That-

David: Right? The kingdom divides, and-

Seth: So-

David: ... and the Southern Kingdom keeps-

Seth: Let's-

David: ... worshiping Yahweh.

Seth: Let's talk about that.

David: Yeah.

Seth: So Solomon's son takes-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... the throne, Rehoboam.

David: Yeah.

Seth: And he's not as wise as his father.

David: Nope.

Seth: And he wants to make the slaves that his father had conscripted work even harder under worse conditions.

David: Right.

Seth: And there is a revolt. And Jeroboam-

David: Mm-hmm

Seth: ... a man from Egypt, uh, comes to undo the slavery of Israel. It's a reverse exodus.

David: Yes.

Seth: Um, and Jeroboam leads in, a whole group of people out of Judah in Jerusalem into the north and divides the kingdom in two.

David: Right.

Seth: And so what's happening right here, you have Jeroboam rejecting the kingship of the son of David.

David: Right.

Seth: And what happens? The country's immediately, uh, divided.

David: Yep.

Seth: It's a, an immediate consequence. You have someone who rejects the King of David. God's people are immediately divided.

David: Yep.

Seth: And the first thing he does is he sets up a different system of sacrifice-

David: Right

Seth: ... and forgiveness. He sets up two golden calves.

David: Yep.

Seth: And fascinating. You know what the consequence for this is?

David: No.

Seth: So as, as I said, there, there's immediate consequences-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... generally throughout the book. The immediate consequence of Jeroboam

Seth: rejecting David-

David: Mm-hmm

Seth: ... and de-centering, replacing the forgiveness of God-

David: Mm-hmm

Seth: ... is to just be written out of Israel's history entirely.

David: What do you mean?

Seth: In the Book of 1 Kings, you bounce between a record of kings in the north and kings in the south.

David: Okay.

Seth: So you get a record of these tribes of Israel in the north did this. These tribes of Israel in the south did this.

David: Oh.

Seth: And the divided kingdom fought in this way.

David: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Seth: And these kings went bad in the north this way, and these kings of the south went bad this way. The Book of Chronicles, they just disappear.

David: You only get a Judah record.

Seth: You only-

David: Southern Kingdom

Seth: ... get a record of Judah.

David: I did not know that.

Seth: The only time the Northern Kingdom shows up is when they are in direct conflict with Judah.

David: Oh, so they just sound like the nations at that point.

Seth: Exactly right.

David: Oh, [laughs] that's rough. [laughs]

Seth: So the consequence for failing to emphasize the son of David or God's priesthood is to no longer be considered part of God's people.

David: The power of the pen, man.

Seth: Right? Isn't that pretty powerful? [laughs]

David: You wrote them out of the book. [laughs] Oh, that's harsh.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Man.

Seth: And then, you know-

David: A literary consequence

Seth: ... and then the last time we hear about, uh, the northern tribe of Israel that created, the re- rejected the kingship of David and rejected, um, the temple is King Ahab.

David: Yeah.

Seth: And you know how he dies?

David: Uh, no, I can't remember.

Seth: He dies by a stray arrow.

David: Oh, yes.

Seth: Because he fails to listen to the voice of God.

David: 'Cause God's like, "Hey, if you go out there, you're gonna die." He's like, "No, I'm gonna dress up as a different person. They won't know it's me."

Seth: Right.

David: "I'm gonna stay in the back of the army."

Seth: But-

David: "I'm gonna totally sidestep this prophecy."

Seth: That's right.

David: And then a stray arrow-

Seth: That's right

David: ... loose accidentally kills him in battle. [laughs]

Seth: And do you remember who else died by a stray arrow?... Saul, King Saul.

David: Ah!

Seth: So the first king of Israel, the united kingdom of Israel-

David: Yes

Seth: ... died by a stray arrow 'cause he failed to listen to God. Ahab, the king of northern Israel, died because he fails to listen, uh, to the voice of God. And then you know how the last good king, the southern kingdom of Judah, dies?

David: No.

Seth: His name is Josiah. He comes to power when he is just eight years old-

David: Right

Seth: ... and he institutes all these amazing reforms.

David: Yeah.

Seth: After hundreds of years-

David: High point

Seth: ... of idolatry, he cleanses all the Israel from-

David: Rediscovers the law.

Seth: Rediscovers the law. He reinstitutes Passover.

David: Right.

Seth: We're told that there hasn't been a Passover or celebration of God's forgiveness and freedom like this since the days of Samuel.

David: Oh, my goodness.

Seth: And then at the very, very end of his life, after all these great things-

David: Mm

Seth: ... we're told a story that we're not told in the Book of Kings.

David: Oh, okay.

Seth: And a prophet from Egypt-

David: Mm

Seth: ... no less, comes up and tells Josiah-

David: Josiah

Seth: ... a word from the Lord, and Josiah doesn't listen.

David: Mm.

Seth: And instead, a stray arrow flies from a battle, hits him in the armor, and he dies.

David: Like Saul.

Seth: Like Saul, like Ahab.

David: Like Ahab. Good, good.

Seth: Every single king who fails to listen to the voice of the Lord is immediately killed in the exact same way.

David: What do you do with that?

Seth: Uh, you listen to the voice of the Lord. [laughing]

David: [laughing]

Seth: You, you put singing priests in the middle of your country, and you listen to every word they say. [laughing]

David: That's, that's fair. [laughing]

Seth: That's fair.

David: But why- but the stray arrow thing?

Seth: Oh.

David: What do you do with that?

Seth: I think the stray arrow is supposed to be, like, a nod to the fact that even though these are all, like, political maneuverings, they're wars with Syria or Ph- Philistia-

David: Mm

Seth: ... or whatever, a stray arrow, it seems more like God's sending the arrow-

David: Yes

Seth: ... than Philistia or Syria is.

David: Right.

Seth: God is punishing these, these kings-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... through the happenstance and thing-

David: Right

Seth: ... and the situations of their own making.

David: Right.

Seth: Their failure to listen created these problems, and then-

David: Mm

Seth: ... that thing pierces them in their own heart.

David: They don't trust God's guidance, and so God shows them how far his guidance goes.

Seth: Yeah.

David: It can guide a stray arrow.

Seth: Yeah. Yeah.

David: Yeah, that's cool. Dang.

Seth: So, yeah. [laughing]

David: Okay. Okay, okay, okay, okay. So, um, uh,

David: all, all the kings of, of Israel end with stray arrows.

Seth: That's right.

David: The first king, the last king of northern Israel, the last king of southern Israel-

Seth: Mm-hmm

David: ... they all die by stray arrows, showing the ultimate guidance of the Lord, that they failed to obey.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: Do we have a, a, a s- the story of exile in Chronicles?

Seth: So, yeah, so what happens after Josiah dies is that Egypt kind of takes over Israel, uh, again, another exodus, which is funny. Just to throw more details at you- [chuckles]

David: Yeah

Seth: ... just after the dual good reigns of, uh, David and Solomon-

David: Uh-huh

Seth: ... you have this conflict in which you have a reverse exodus, and you have a man from Egypt coming and separating the 12 tribes from each other.

David: Rehoboam, Jeroboam.

Seth: That's right.

David: Yep.

Seth: Here, we have Hezekiah, Josiah, two kings, and now another Egyptian comes and takes over Israel. Do you see the, see the parallels I'm making?

David: I think so.

Seth: Basically, uh, the exodus, like, the, the slavery of Egypt is happening over and over again.

David: I see.

Seth: When Israel-

David: Yes

Seth: ... it happens.

David: So now Israel's being put back under the thumb of an evil empire.

Seth: Yeah, that's right.

David: That's the idea.

Seth: That's the idea.

David: I understand.

Seth: That's the idea.

David: Okay.

Seth: Yes, so Israel's taken over by Egypt, and a series of puppet kings is put in place-

David: Right

Seth: ... um, until finally, one day, um, Babylon comes along-

David: Mm-hmm

Seth: ... destroys Jerusalem, takes away its land, exiles its people, and burns the temple to the ground-

David: Mm

Seth: ... fulfilling the prophecy that, uh, God spoke to Solomon in the dream.

David: Right.

Seth: "If you fail to do these things..."

David: I'll take the temple away.

Seth: "I'll take the temple away." And that's almost the end of the story.

David: Right. Okay.

Seth: Um, so let's just pause there for a second.

David: Okay.

Seth: You're a part of a new generation trying to rebuild Israel.

David: Mm-hmm.

Seth: And you get to the end of this tragic history in which God's people fail to listen to God's guidance, and it sends them to exile.

David: Yeah.

Seth: And you're kinda like, "Okay, I know this story." [chuckles]

David: Yeah.

Seth: Right? You, I know this story. I know how we got here.

David: Right.

Seth: And what the, the, the, the innovation is that they failed to have a King of David, focus their reign on the King of David-

David: Mm

Seth: ... and they failed to prioritize the temple.

David: Right.

Seth: So that, that's there.

David: Yep.

Seth: The crazy thing at the very end of the Book of Chronicles is that we're introduced to a new king-

David: Mm

Seth: ... the Persian King, Cyrus.

David: Yeah.

Seth: And Cyrus claims that God has spoken to him-

David: Mm

Seth: ... that he has all authority in heaven and on earth, and he then sends Israel back to rebuild their temple.

David: If Israel won't listen to God, a Persian king will.

Seth: Right. And really weirdly, this Persian king is acting like David.

David: Mm, how?

Seth: He's prioritizing the priesthood of Israel.

David: Oh, 'cause he, because he sends-

Seth: He sends Israel back specifically to-

David: To rebuild their temple

Seth: ... rebuild their temple.

David: Yeah.

Seth: That's what these... He's like, "I want to rule my kingdom well, and I recognize the success [chuckles] of my kingdom is dependent on whether or not you build your temple."

David: Mm.

Seth: So even though he's not from Israel, even though he's a Gentile-

David: Right

Seth: ... he recognizes the truth that Israel's own kings failed to recognize.

David: Mm.

Seth: If you're a new generation of leaders trying to rebuild Israel-

David: Mm-hmm

Seth: ... do you really want to be out-faithfuled and out-listened to God by your Gentile overlord?

David: Definitely not.

Seth: Right.

David: Yeah. [chuckles]

Seth: And it also offers, like, a weird little bit of hope, too.

David: Mm.

Seth: It's like, even if there is no son of David on the throne-

David: Mm

Seth: ... I can raise up sons of David from the nations.

David: Mm.

Seth: [chuckles] Uh, right?

David: Watch out, John the Baptist.

Seth: Right?

David: Yep.

Seth: Um, so, like, there's, like, well, layers here.

David: Yeah.

Seth: It's like it's an indictment of an Israel who failed to prioritize their temple.

David: But it's also a hope.

Seth: But it's also a hope-

David: Mm

Seth: ... that even if there isn't a king at the moment of David-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... God, his people can still-

David: ... prioritize the temple.

Seth: But like, man, why? Right?

David: Because of God's steadfast love- [chuckles]

Seth: Of God's steadfast love!

David: ... That never ends. [chuckles]

Seth: That's right.

David: Like-

Seth: That's exactly right.

David: There's literally no hope. God still-

Seth: That's right

David: ... has steadfast love.

Seth: Yes.

David: Oh.

Seth: And then think about- and so, uh, we've said this a couple different times, but these words... Let me just read it to you.

David: Yeah.

Seth: Cyrus, King of Persia, says this: "The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all of his people, may the Lord his God be with him, and let him go up and do this task."

David: Mm.

Seth: S- just notice how similar this is-

David: [chuckles]

Seth: ... to the way that Jesus, that Matthew ends his gospel.

David: Yeah.

Seth: Um, and the last words of Jesus.

David: Mm-hmm.

Seth: He's- Jesus says this: "All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me." Cyrus said, uh, "The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth." [laughing] Um,

Seth: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I've commanded you." He says, "Go and build me a house at, at Jerusalem" and what does the house at Jerusalem mean? What is a temple? It's the center of God's teaching.

David: Mm.

Seth: It's the center of God's guidance. It's the center of G- the identification of God's people.

David: Yeah.

Seth: That's what baptism is, and then Jesus says-

David: Mm

Seth: ... "I- and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" and what does Cyrus say? "May the Lord his God be with them-

David: Be with them. [chuckles]

Seth: ... be with them. Go." Jesus understands he is quoting a pagan king.

David: Mm.

Seth: He is commissioning his Jewish disciples, but to go into all the world and make temples-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... throughout all the world, and what's crazier, too, is that Paul will pick up the same logic in-

David: Mm

Seth: ... Romans 11, which is a weird place to go, but at a- but after the Jesus movement gets started, Gentiles start to outnumber-

David: Right

Seth: ... Jewish believers in Jesus.

David: Yeah.

Seth: And the Gentiles are starting to be the ones who are going back to Jerusalem to tell them about Jesus.

David: Right.

Seth: What is that a picture of? It's a, a picture of Cyrus.

David: Oh, yes.

Seth: And what does Paul say? He says, like, the hope is that the inclusion of unnatural people-

David: That's right

Seth: ... like J- us, Gentiles-

David: Will make the Jews jealous.

Seth: And j- and make them do the r- make them follow Jesus the Messiah. [laughing]

David: Right.

Seth: Like-

David: So like Cyrus was doing that for Israel.

Seth: That's exactly right.

David: I see.

Seth: That's exactly right.

David: I see. Okay.

Seth: Uh, so there's even hope for, like-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... our Jewish brothers and sisters who do not, not yet believe in Jesus.

David: Right.

Seth: That through people like us, some Goyims over here-

David: Right

Seth: ... in Oklahoma, that they might one day [laughing] come to Jesus!

David: Like, "Man, these guys love our God."

Seth: [laughing]

David: It's like, we really do.

Seth: Yeah. [laughing]

David: We do love your God. [laughing]

Seth: [laughing] Yeah.

David: Uh, yeah. Oh, that's amazing. I love that.

Seth: Yeah.

David: Man, what else?

Seth: Man, I, I-

David: [laughing]

Seth: I just w- [laughing]

David: Well, I'll just take anything you got. But we've also got- we've also covered a lot of ground.

Seth: Again, I keep thinking about the way, like, the call of Cyrus to go and rebuild a temple-

David: Mm

Seth: ... and then Jesus's call to go and make disciples of all nations.

David: Mm-hmm.

Seth: In one sense, that's an individual task: Go talk to your neighbors.

David: Sure.

Seth: Right? But in other senses, that's like an institutional task.

David: Right.

Seth: You need-

David: Jesus wasn't talking to one person when he said that.

Seth: Right.

David: Right.

Seth: He's talking to his body.

David: The founder of his, of his church.

Seth: Right. That's exactly right.

David: Yeah. [chuckles]

Seth: And so just even, like... I think the reason I kept harping on bureaucracy-

David: Mm

Seth: ... was just to kind of redeem those moments in scripture.

David: Yeah.

Seth: Like, why do I need to read the names of the leaders of 24,000 priests?

David: Right.

Seth: It's because they represent a movement of God in the world.

David: Mm.

Seth: Right?

David: Yeah. No, it's good.

Seth: Um, and, like, it's really boring to read an org chart-

David: Right [chuckles]

Seth: ... of some organization that's translated 10,000 Bibles into Korean or Swahili or-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... Iranian, but I'm like, "That's part of the movement of the Kingdom of God in the world."

David: Yeah.

Seth: Those long, long lists prove something of the faithfulness of somebody s- along the line.

David: Right.

Seth: And what's possible when God's people

Seth: center

Seth: their own lives around the instruction and guidance of God, and the forgiveness offered in him.

David: Yeah. I mean, it's good news.

Seth: Yeah, it's good news. [chuckles]

David: It's good news.

Seth: It's good news.

David: This has been fun. I've really enjoyed-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... Chronicles. Um, I think besides the insane parallels between the Jesus movement in the New Testament-

Seth: Yes

David: ... and Chronicles, and it makes sense. It's like, it's the last book in the Hebrew Old Testament.

Seth: That's right.

David: Like-

Seth: That's right

David: ... they get to the end of it, they're like, "Where's the next part of our story?"

Seth: Right, and-

David: And they're just- they just map it all on.

Seth: Yeah.

David: So I just love seeing that, but then, um, just seeing that our, our Jesus movement that we're in, right, the, the Kingdom of God that you and I get to be a part of-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... of being priests in-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... that it's centered around listening to God's voice and, um, and focusing on forgiveness through sacrifice.

Seth: Mm-hmm.

David: [gasps] Oh, I see-

Seth: I just-

David: I hit a nerve.

Seth: I just thought of something.

David: Okay.

Seth: All throughout Chronicles, the kings are supposed to centralize the priesthood.

David: Yeah, right.

Seth: Which only ever meant centralizing one clan.

David: Oh, the Levites.

Seth: The Levites.

David: Right.

Seth: Now, King Jesus, the Son of David, is on the throne. How does he centralize the priesthood? By placing his Spirit on everyone.

David: Oh, yes.

Seth: His temple resides in not just one clan-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... but all peoples of all nations.

David: Right.

Seth: For Jesus to properly centralize the priesthood, he had to-

David: He had to decentralize it. [chuckles]

Seth: He had to decentralize it-

David: [chuckles]

Seth: ... and he had to democratize his Spirit and place it inside everyone-

David: Right

Seth: ... who claimed- follows him and claims allegiance to the God of Israel.

David: Yeah, he had to make everybody get the fulfillment of Solomon's prayer for wisdom.

Seth: Yes.

David: That the indwelling wisdom-

Seth: Yes

David: ... that Solomon asked for, to govern and facilitate God's Kingdom on Earth, would be in every single believer-

Seth: Yes

David: ... not one king in one place for one clan.

Seth: That's right.

David: Yeah, that's cool.

Seth: Yeah. And so it's like, in order for

Seth: the hope of Chronicles to be true-

David: Mm

Seth: ... you had to have a demolishing of the temple in some way.

David: Yeah, right. Yes.

Seth: You had to have the demolishing of a centralized structure-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... so that all people in all nations could truly be the center of God's act of forgiveness-

David: Yeah

Seth: ... and power and guidance.

David: Right. So all of us who have come to the new temple in Jesus-

Seth: Yeah

David: ... have been given this Holy Spirit. Fire-

Seth: Yes

David: ... has fallen on us.

Seth: Yes.

David: We've been granted the wisdom of Solomon to govern, so go therefore [chuckles] into all nations.

Seth: Baptizing people and teaching them about the guidance of Jesus! [laughing]

David: So good. [laughing]

Seth: That's really good.

David: Well, that's Chronicles, yeah?

Seth: Yeah, that's Chronicles.

David: At least that's our whack at it.

Seth: That's, that's, that's as far as we're going. [chuckles]

David: There we go. Well, thank you everybody for joining us in our walk through Chronicles.

Seth: Yeah, thank you very much.

David: It's been awesome. Thank you, Seth, and thank you, Christine, for all the work that you guys have poured into understanding this book and communicating it. We so appreciate you guys. I know all of you all listening, uh, appreciate all the work. Uh, thanks for teaching me and bringing me along on this journey. It's been really fun, and, uh, we'll see you guys in our next book. [upbeat music]

Outro: Thank you for listening to the Spoken Gospel podcast. Spoken Gospel creates short films, devotionals, and podcasts like this one. Everything we make is free because of generous supporters like you. To see our resources, visit spokengospel.com or subscribe to our YouTube channel. Thanks for listening. See you next time. [upbeat music]

Related Resources

Listen to the Chronicles Overview: The Forgotten Musical in our Bibles podcast

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Listen to the Chronicles Overview: David's Rise To Power podcast

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Listen to the Chronicles Overview: A "Perfect" Solomon and Three Stray Arrows podcast

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Solomon's Perfect Reign and the Three Stray Arrows: How Chronicles Points to Jesus

Show Notes

The Chronicler's Idealized Solomon

Building Eden: The Temple and the Nations

Fire Falls and Steadfast Love Endures

The Famous Promise and Its Forgotten Warning

Three Stray Arrows: The Pattern of Disobedience

From Exile to the Great Commission

Related Resources

Introduction to 1 & 2 Chronicles

View our devotional on 1 Chronicles 1:1-9:34

Ready to study a different book?

Listen to the Chronicles Overview: The Forgotten Musical in our Bibles podcast

Listen to the Chronicles Overview: David's Rise To Power podcast

Listen to the Chronicles Overview: A "Perfect" Solomon and Three Stray Arrows podcast